What were America's fears during the Cold War?

There were many fears of the Cold War that the American people feared in the aftermath of the Second World War, which is stated in Document A. The American people feared the Soviet for two reasons. One reason was why the American people feared the Soviet was because the Soviet had nuclear bombs. The other reason was that the Soviet was the first to put up an orbiting satellite, which was Sputnik. However, as in stated in Document B, the American people greatest fear was communism. Because China turned Communist and allegations were made about the United States having communism here in their own homes made the American people fears worsen. However, the administration of President Eisenhower addressed these fears with caution with an open-mind sense of understanding. Eisenhower's administration used consensus decision-making, which was a management style based on group efforts to solve problem. Therefore, Eisenhower's administration made mostly great decisions. Eisenhower and his administration greatest decision was how they addressed Communism.

There could have been no better way to handle communism than the way Eisenhower and his administration handled it. Eisenhower and his administration developed a new containment policy. These new policy was called massive retaliation. This policy was developed from Eisenhower's new program called the "New Look."

Massive retaliation was the threat of using nuclear weapons that made the enemy thinks twice before attack. The policy, however, had two dangerous results. First, it gave the United States only two extreme ways of responding to a Communist attack: either fight a nuclear war or do nothing. Secondly, it gave the Soviet no choice but to better their research, which can be seen in Document E. With the "New Look" and massive retaliation, Eisenhower and his administration would be ready for communism when communism comes. However, the fear of the Soviet's nuclear weapon greatens.